Tender Words
by katepotter7
Summary: Harry Potter gets lured into Voldemort's trap and finds out the death of a dear friend and the love of another. COMPLETE: THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!
1. The Evil Plot

Tender Words

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to JKR.

A/N: HI! This is my first story so don't be too hard on me ok? Thanks and I hope you enjoy it!

_Prologue_

The three best friends walked down the hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, arms linked, inseparable.

Little did they know, miles and miles away, their arch enemy was plotting the horrible yet clever death of Harry Potter.

Chapter 1-_The Evil Plot _

It was a sunny day for most people, but not for Marcus Flint. His master wanted him to put an unforgivable curse on a fellow student. Voldemort presented him with three things to work with: An Invisibility cloak, a list of names and pictures of Harry Potter's best friends, and instructions (which he'll definitely need). 

"Hey! Watch it!" Flint spat. A red haired boy turned around rubbing his arm and mumbled, "Sorry." With an irritated look, he went back to the items he now possessed. 

"Wait a minute!" He double took back to where the freckle-faced red head stood and looked at the pictures one by one and found the one he was looking for, "Ronald Weasley." He snickered under his breath.

An evil grin spread across his face as he checked off #1 on his instructions: choose a victim.

**Evil cliffy! Ha! Scroll down!**

*More! (I love evil cliffies!)

**OK fine! Here's the story.**

His eyes scrolled down to the next thing on the list and it took him a while to sound out Gryffindor. It read, 'Get into Gryffindor Tower and take something valuable of Harry Potter's.'

A/N: I know it's kinda boring right now but it gets better in the second chapter, don't worry.


	2. The Imperious Curse

Chapter 2- The Imperious Curse

Disclaimer- I don't own these characters

Harry and Ron walked down the staircase, on their way to Quidditch practice; as Ron was their Keeper. They were almost to the Quidditch Pitch when, "Oh shoot! I forgot my broom!" Ron shouted at Harry. 

"Well," Harry pondered, "go back to Gryffindor Tower and get it. I'll meet you at practice. No offense, but I don't want to be late." 

Ron started walking the other way. "RUN!" Harry shouted after him. He broke into a run to fetch his Nimbus Two Thousand. 

Flint's p.o.v.:

"Humph. Get into Gryffindor Tower? That's easy!" Flint voiced his thoughts. He walked around Hogwarts trying to remember where Gryffindor Tower was. 

He snuck up a staircase or two trying not to be seen since he'd graduated from Hogwarts three years ago. There! He found it: the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Let me in!" he shouted at her. 

"Excuse me? I believe you've forgotten something" The Fat Lady proclaimed. "Huh?" Flint questioned. "Password?" she said, taken aback.

"What? Oh, who cares! Just let me in!" 

The Fat Lady slyly smiled, crossed her arms, and said nothing. He shrugged and thought of another plan. "Hmmm." He thought aloud. Just then, a small, brown haired boy passed by. Flint held out a hand and stopped him.

"Hey, I forgot the password. Could you tell me?" He managed to say in the sweetest voice he could muster. "Oh, sure!" cried Neville feeling grateful to be of some help. He wasn't paying attention to who it was, he just felt really special. 

He found his list of recent passwords and handed it to Flint right before he dashed off in the other direction. Neville just realized what he did and smacked himself on his forehead. "Oh man!" 

Neville slumped away slowly and decided not to tell anyone since he just wasn't in the mood to be blamed for something he did out of stupidity. Flint trotted happily to the portrait and read aloud every password on the list. 

After she still denied his entry he shouted, "WHY NOT! I'VE SAID EVERY PASSWORD ON THE LIST!" "Those aren't the passwords" she exclaimed quite plainly. He looked down at the list again and saw the title, 'Candies to get at Hogsmeade' Flint was so mad, he was about to explode. 

Lost for words, he stomped away, mummbling. When he reached a turn in the hallway he heard quick footsteps coming his way. "Shoot!" He whispered to himself and jumped into a small closet next to him and watched through the crack.

Hey! It was that Ron Weasley he was after! Now was his chance. Flint quickly and quietly, put on the Invisibility cloak, and stepped out. Right after he heard Ron gasp "Bludger" as the password, he pointed his wand at him and whispered, "Imperio." 

Ron stood still and Flint said in his head, 'Go inside.' Ron did so and Flint followed under the cloak. The portrait door closed behind them as Ron and Flint made their way into the boy's dormitories while passing an alone, studying Hermionie who didn't even notice Ron coming in (as she was buried in books). 

Flint made _Ron _go through Harry's trunk just in case someone came in. Flint already had in mind what he was looking for: Harry's precious Firebolt. Unluckily for Flint, it wasn't there since he remembered, "Harry's at Quidditch practice, that's right! Dang it!" He added through gritted teeth. 

Dissapointed, he and Ron walked out and into the common room where this time, Hermionie noticed Ron. "Hey Ron." Hermionie said glancing up at him then back down to her books. 'say hi' Flint commanded Ron in his head. "Hi" Ron said with no emotion. 

Flint's face suddenly screwed up due to the fact that he was _trying_ to remember what the instructions said, 'Get something valuable of Harry Potter's.' he glanced at Hermionie. "Perfect" he said. "What's that Ron?"

Questioned Hermionie. 

But Ron didn't answer her. Instead, Flint commanded Ron to approach Hermionie, arms outstretched. "Ron. What are you doing?" Hermionie said with a puzzld look on her face. "Ron? Ron!" Hermionie tried to wriggle free of Ron's grasp. 

With Hermionie restrained, Flint uncovered himself and smiled his ugly, wicked smile at her. Her eyes widened and she tried to scream but Ron covered her mouth. Flint yelled, "Flipendo!" Ron let go so that the Flipendo spell flew her against the wall. 

She was knocked out and bleeding freely at the back of her head. Flint found some spare parchment, dipped her limp finger in her blood and used it to write: 

**Dear Harry Potter,**

Come get your friends or you 

may never see them again.

Flint then ordered Ron to fetch Harry's invisibility cloak. He did so and the three snuck out, Ron carrying an unconscious Hermionie. Flint led them out of the castle (while magically wiping the blood trail away behind him) to the place he knew all too well: Voldemort's hide-out. 

****


	3. Missing

Chapter three- Missing

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

"Ooooh" Harry moaned. He had fallen off his broom after a bludger hit him since he got distracted. He had a weird feeling in his stomach (not to mention the star shaped necklace Dumbledore gave him the day he came to Hogwarts was lighting up) told him something was wrong. 

Terribly wrong. Ron hadn't shown up for practice and Harry was getting worried. The rest of practice didn't go too well. Katie Bell, Their new Quidditch Captain, was working them harder than ever. 

Harry hated to say this, but he felt a little glad when Quidditch practice was over, because Katie was without a doubt, worse than Wood. It took Harry longer than usual just to catch the snitch ever since the distraction. When Quidditch practice was finally over, all Harry cared about was making sure Ron and Hermione were alright. 

Especially Hermione. 

Ever since the kiss on the platform, he looked at Hermione differently. He would always catch himself day dreaming about her, and the way her soft lips felt on his cheek, and the sweet smell of her hair. All this Harry thought about on his way to Gryffindor Tower. 

The closer he got, the more his heart beat. He couldn't wait to see Hermione's beautiful face. He couldn't wait to hear her comforting words after a long Quidditch practice. Once again, he caught himself thinking about her and realized, "I am madly in love with Hermione." With that admission, he decided to tell her how he feels about her. 

"But what if she doesn't feel the same about me?" He thought aloud. "No, I won't tell her. Wait yes I will. No questions asked!" He made himself say. He nodded his head to signify that was settled. He blurted out the password and collapsed on the nearest couch in the common room to rest his eyes. 

After a few minutes, he opened them and observed his surroundings. No Hermione, or Ron. Harry was disappointed. 'Where could they be at this hour? Lessons are already over and they're usually waiting to ask me how practice went.' Harry thought, puzzled. 

He looked around the room more carefully and noticed a big dent in the wall behind him. He peered around for more clues as to what could have made the dent. On the table he found a piece of parchment by Hermione's open books. No wait, it was a letter, to _him_. 

He picked it up and it seemed the ink was fresh because some got on his thumb. 'Wait a minute. This isn't ink it's_ BLOOD!_' Harry started to panic as he read the letter:

****

Dear Harry Potter, 

Come get your friends or 

you may never see them again.

Harry's face flushed with anger and furry. At that moment, Harry didn't care about anything else except to get back his best friend Ron, and his beloved Hermione. He stomped up to the boy's dormitories fuming mad looking for his invisibility cloak. But it wasn't there! 

This is going to make everything much harder. 'How am I going to get out without anyone seeing me?' He decided to sneak out later that night and use the Marauder's Map to stay away from Filch but more importantly Snape. He would probably be waiting for him to get in trouble. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that night around 12 A.M., Harry snuck out with the map and he really had no idea where he was going. "Lumos." He whispered so he could see around the dark castle. 

He shown the light on the ground and saw a trail of blood. "What" He said. 

He put the light out and he couldn't see it anymore. Not because there was no light, but because _it wasn't there_. The person that kidnapped them must of done some sort of spell to make it invisible to the naked eye. Only by the light of a wand could the blood be seen. 

Harry figured this out and followed the trail out of the castle. He realized the trail lead into the Forbidden Forest. "Here it goes." He said with a sigh. As he walked through the forest, the way he was going seemed oddly familiar. 

It also seemed the farther he went, the less he could see the blood. On the good side that meant his friend (which ever one it was) stopped bleeding a little. On the bad side he might not be able to find where they went. 

The blood was about faded away when he figured out what seemed so familiar: there lying in front of him, was a giant, dead spider. 

A/N: Thanks to my brother for typing this. (Who is 16 by the way) my brother told me to type that.


	4. Revenge

Chapter 4- Revenge

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

"Aragog!" Harry gasped. He knew this was Aragog because of the whiteness in his eyes ( since Aragog was blind). But Harry wasn't too concerned because his last encounter with Aragog had been life threatening.

Now realizing where he was, he stretched his wand arm out and moved it around. Doing this, he noticed giant spider webs above him, and other dead spiders every where else. Now Harry knew that spiders weren't very friendly creatures, but who could come here and kill _all_ of them? Who could do such a thing? Then it hit him. 

"Voldemort." He growled. Then someone started to clap and laughed. No, it wasn't a laugh, it was a cruel, hissing growl. Out of the shadows walked the ugliest person Harry had ever seen. He fell to his knees and clutched his forehead. 

His scar was on fire. 

He looked up and narrowed his eyes at Voldemort. "Clever, clever Harry Potter. I've been expecting you. I knew you'd get here sometime. You think you've got this all figured out?" Voldemort said happily, smiling. Then the smile was wiped instantly off his face. 

"Your wrong." He growled. The next thing Harry knew, he was thrown backward right into a spider's web. "You've fallen right into my trap. Now I can_ finally_ get revenge _and_ have my last words. But before I kill you, I'd like to show you something." 

He held up a hand and snapped. Out of the shadows Marcus Flint happily marched out carrying Herminie (still unconscious, but not bleeding) and behind him, Ron. But it wasn't _really _Ron. It was his body but not his mind. He had a dazed look in his eyes. Harry noticed this and shouted, 

"What did you do to them!!!!!" 

"Oh don't worry." Voldemort said. "They won't feel anything when they die, only you." Voldemort said this calmly as if he talked of murder and death all the time. Ron was behind them and they didn't notice him fighting the curse. He was almost out of the trance so Harry decided to stall Voldemort.

"Why do you want to kill them!! They never did anything to you!!!" Harry yelled. 

"Oh but they did." He sneered. "They helped you get to me. And I just want to see you suffer as you watch them die." He laughed his cruel laugh. Then he stopped abruptly. "Then again, I've been waiting _so_ long to kill you. I'll just do it now." 

Voldemort raised his wand level to Harry's chest. Ron had just snapped out of the trance and it only took him a few seconds before he realized what was going on. Then 3 things happened at once: Voldemort shot the Avada Kedavra Curse at Harry and

*sorry, but I had to make a cliffy! It was so tempting!*

Ron jumped in front of him to block it. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as it thundered towards Ron. *thanks CrystalHorse72* Hot tears blinded Harry as he saw what he could not prevent. Harry tried desperately to kick Ron out of the way but his legs were stuck to the web. 

"Nnnnoooooooo!" Harry cried. Then it happened, the spell hit Ron full force and it flew both of them backwards. The web wasn't strong enough to hold, and it broke. Harry fell to the ground with Ron dead on top of him. 

"Ron. Ron! Wake up." Deep inside, Harry knew Ron was dead, but didn't want to admit it to himself. His tears kept flowing. Harry's hands were covered in Ron's blood, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be with him. He cried a river of tears onto Ron's lifeless chest. 

Harry felt so much grief, he couldn't take it. He passed out then and there.

The third thing that happened was that three people emerged from the bushes. They were, Professor Dumbledore, McGonnagal, and Snape. Seeing Dumbledore and his friends, Voldemort transformed into a bat, and flew off into the night.

Flint screamed bloody murder, seeing everything went wrong, and came crying to Snape's feet. 

"I surrender, I surrender, I surrender!" he kept crying. "Get off me you filthy double crosser." Snape kicked him off, disgusted. Dumbledore saw Hermione first and rushed over to her. McGonnagal and Snape attended to Ron and Harry. They were all magicked to stretchers and led back to the Hospital Wing.


	5. The Sequel To The Necklace

Chapter 5- The Sequel To The Necklace

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

A/N- My friend is typing this for me because she can. And to think that all that time I was spelling "Hermione" "Hermione". WHY DIDN'T U TELL ME????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

*~*

"Who will tell them Albus?" Professor McGonagall questioned. Harry woke up but didn't open his eyes. He tried but didn't want to move. He still had a headache from his scar hurting so badly. He shut his eyes tightly and bit his lip. 

"I will, Minerva. As Harry is awake right now," Dumbledore said matter-of-factly. 

Harry made himself open his eyes but showed no sign of pain. Dumbledore strode over to Harry's bedside and sat down. There were many questions Harry wanted to ask but the first one that came to mind was, "How are Hermione and Ron?" Dumbledore didn't answer this but said instead said, "Ron was truly a great friend and those are hard to come by these days." 

Harry was confused at Dumbledore's choice of words to the question he had asked. Harry could remember everything until he saw Ron and Hermione emerge from the shadows. Harry was puzzled so he asked another question. "What happened to Voldemort and Flint?" 

"Right when we got there, Voldemort disapparated and Flint came crying to us. So he was taken care of,"

"What do you mean, 'taken care of'?" Harry asked

"The dementors in Azkaban were getting lonely," Dumbledore answered.

"Oh," Harry said. "One more question."

"Yes?" Dumbledore said and smiled.

"How did you know where we were?" 

"Ahh. Harry, did you ever wonder why I gave you that necklace?"

"Umm… no. Why?"

"When you were a baby, your mother gave it to me and told me to give it to you on your first day at Hogwarts. So I did," Dumbledore said.

"Uh huh," Harry said, wanting to know more.

"Well, the whole reason was because of what it does. Did that necklace light up at all today?"

"Yes."

"It lit up because your friends were in trouble. But there's another part to it. See this ring?" Dumbledore held up his right hand, and on his ring finger, there was kind of like a tye-dye mood ring. "Whenever you're in trouble, my ring starts to glow. Then I know to go to my office and look at my map that shows me where you are. That necklace is like a tracking device in case anything ever happened to you."

Harry wasn't sure what to think. He was glad Dumbledore came to rescue him, but he didn't want him to check up on him like a little kid. Dumbledore seemed to know what he was thinking and said, "Don't worry. I never use it unless my ring is glowing for a long time."

"Oh," Harry sighed, relieved. Now that he felt a little better, he looked left to right and, on his right, lay Hermione in a bed beside him. When he saw she was still asleep, he turned to face Dumbledore and asked what was wrong. 

"She was hit on the back of the head and was bleeding for a long time. Actually, she will be getting a transfusion any minute now." Just as he said that, Madam Pomfrey walked in, asked Dumbledore to leave and closed the curtain between Harry and Hermione. 

After about an hour and a half, Harry was told the transfusion was done but Hermione wasn't to be disturbed until she awoke herself. The curtain was drawn back and Harry saw Hermione's beautiful face. But she must have been dreaming because her face was contorted with pain and she was moaning. 

Harry frowned and a tear came to his eye. He hated seeing her like that. He looked around and no one else was in the room so he got up, leaned over Hermione and softly kissed her on the forehead. Her face slowly went back to normal and she slept peacefully. Harry stayed at her side in a chair holding her hand protectively as they slept.


	6. Tears

Chapter 6-Tears

Disclaimer: *checks mail* huh! *gasps* I got sued! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL U! I'M NOT J/K ROWLING! If I was, I wouldn't be here now would I? I'd be working on the 6th/7th book! Sheesh!

Hermione awoke to see Harry at her side clutching her hand. She smiled at this but made no attempt to move it. She also saw Dumbledore at the end of her bed smiling at the scene with a twinkle in his eye. Hermione sat up, blushed slightly, and said. "I don't mind." 

As she could see Dumbledore looking at Harry holding her hand. When Hermione sat up, it awoke Harry and he yawned as he lifted his head. "Oh hi Professor." Harry said and quickly pulled his hand away from Hermione's. 

"It's quite all right." said Dumbledore. "I know love when I see it. I should leave you two alone." Both Harry and Hermione looked at each other blushing furiously. Harry then remembered when Professor McGonagall had asked Professor Dumbledore 'Who will tell them?' and turned to ask Dumbledore what she meant, but he was gone. 

"'Mionie. You O.K.?" Hermione saw a look of concern in Harry's eyes.

"I'm all right. But where's Ron?"

"I dunno." He said, stumped. "I hope he's O.K."

"Me too." Hermione added in a very worried tone.

"Well, when I asked Dumbledore about Ron, he just said, 'Ron was truly a great friend and those are hard to come by these days.' No more, no less."

Dumbledore walked back in and Harry asked him about Ron. He sighed and replied, "Well Harry, I'm just going to make it straight to the point." He paused and looked into Harry's and Hermione's eyes. 

"Ron's…..dead." 

Due to the fact that he couldn't remember it, he was _crying_ (once again). "He risked his life for you like a true friend would do." Harry fell to the ground and wept. _Just wept._ Hermione was silently crying in shock. 'How could this happen to me? _US?_ This only happens to other people. Never _us_!' Hermione tried to deny it but she knew the horrible truth.

She saw Harry crying and her shock grew more. 'Harry is _crying_?' She had never seen Harry cry before and it came to Hermione that it wasn't that big of a shock. After all, he just found out his _best friend_ is dead. She got out of bed and knelt beside him. She pulled him up close to her and comforted him. 

Dumbledore left the room. Hermione was saying, "Ssshhh. It's gonna be ok. It'll be alright," while stroking his hair gently. His sobs came to sniffles and she tilted his head up and looked into his eyes. They no longer held that spark. They had no life within them. There was just _nothing_. He weakly smiled and wiped a tear from her soft cheek with his thumb. "Thanks 'Mione." Hermione didn't know what to say. This was the first time she had ever seen Harry cry. 

"You know, if it weren't for you I'd see no reason to live." Harry said sadly. 

"Why?" 

Harry burst out talking like he had been waiting to say this for a long time. "Because of me three people I loved are dead. My Mum, Dad, and now Ron. All because they risked their lives for mine. All to keep me alive. If I were dead, it'd be much better off for everyone else. I wouldn't be putting everyone in danger." 

He paused for a minute then continued. "But knowing that I have you Hermione Granger, I don't want to die. I want to spend every waking moment with you." Silence. "'Mione? I love you."

"I love you too." Their faces were inches apart and slowly closing in. Then their lips touched in a soft, passionate, beautiful kiss. They stood up and Harry gave her his 'million dollar smile.' She went weak in the knees like she does every time. 

A/N: I finally added some romance for those of you who like fluff. (there's more to come) *hint hint* 


	7. Mrs Potter

Chapter 7- Mrs. Potter

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to JK Rowling! WOOHOO!

Harry awoke to the smell of coffee. He lay in bed and sniffed the air. "Mmm ." It had been 7 years since he had graduated from Hogwarts and he's been married a little less than a year now. He got out of bed not bothering to get dressed and trotted down the stairs. "Hey honey." Harry leaned in to kiss his wife but she dodged him like a rogue bludger.

"Someone's here to see you." Harry was confused. Lately she had been acting strange. "Who?" "Come and see." Harry walked in the kitchen and saw a beautiful woman about five foot six with long, wavy, brown hair, and chocolate eyes. He blushed in the presence of a women since he was only wearing his boxers. 

The woman quickly scanned his body. He had a six-pack and muscular arms and legs. 

He ran upstairs to get dressed. "Sorry about that." Harry said apologetically. "It's quite all right." She exclaimed. "So I see you've got yourself a Mrs. Potter." She glanced at Harry's wife then back to him. "Oh, sorry. This is my wife,

*cliffy! Mua ha ha ha ha ha!*

Cho Potter. Cho meet…" 

The woman completed his sentence. "Hermione. Hermione Granger." Harry was dumbstruck. "Her…Her….Hermione?" Harry choked. "That's me." She said proudly. This was all too much for him. He fell into the nearest chair. Then he realized Hermione's last name was still Granger. She didn't get married. _Yet_. She could have a boyfriend. Or even a fiancé. He glanced at her left hand. No ring. "Why do you seem so surprised? I'm just a friend come to visit." She exclaimed.

"Excuse us." Harry said to Cho. He pulled Hermione aside. "You didn't just come to visit. We haven't seen each other in….seven years!" He stumbled over his own words. "Harry. I have to tell you something very important. Now you probably won't believe me, but you're gonna have to trust me." He looked into his dazzling, bright green eyes. "Cho's cheating on you." 

"What?!" Harry yelled. "Ssshhh." Hermione had to stand right up close to him in order for him to hear her when she whispered. "You'll have to act like you don't know so she doesn't suspect you. We need to catch her in the act first." 

"How do you know this?" 

"I've already seen her with another guy, but I didn't do anything because I thought he was her husband. I didn't know she was your wife until I came here." 

"Did you see who it was?" She hesitated a moment then said, "If I tell you, promise you won't do anything stupid?" Harry nodded his head vigorously. "Draco Malfoy." "How could she possibly like that piece of *bleep*?" "Harry, calm yourself. Remember, you promised not to do anything stupid." 

"Fine. For now. But when I catch him," he paused, "I'm gonna beat the living *bleep* out of him." "Fine by me." Hermione agreed. They walked out into the other room to join Cho. "Hermione and I are going out to lunch this afternoon. Is that all right?" 

"Sure. That's fine." Cho answered Harry. They all sat down for breakfast and didn't really talk much. Harry kept glaring at Cho. He **so** mad at her. 'How could she do this to me?' At some points, he just wanted to burst out yelling at her he was so mad. 'But Hermione said we can't say anything until we catch them together.' He kept reminding himself. 

The afternoon came and Harry and Hermione were ready to leave when Hermione said, "We'll be gone about three to four hours. You know, we have a lot to catch up on. So you can get some stuff done." Hermione made sure to let Cho know they would be gone awhile so she would go see Malfoy. As soon as they shut the door, she did exactly as they wanted: called Malfoy.

She picked up the phone and dialed the number. "Draco?"…"Hi!"…"I'm fine. Hey, can I come over for awhile?" Pause. "Yeah well Harry's gone. For like four hours!" Pause. "OK. I'll see you in a bit."…."Love you too. Bye."


	8. Catching Up

Chapter 8- Catching up

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns these characters. I don't. CAN I MAKE MYSELF ANY CLEARER? 

Harry and Hermione decided to sit on a bench in a nearby park. The were giving Cho time to get to Malfoy's. And in truth they did have a lot to catch up on. Hermione was staring dreamily up into the clouds. Obviously deep in thought. Without noticing what she was doing, she lay her head down on Harry's chest , still looking at the sky. 

Harry was surprised but draped his arm around her shoulders anyway. "What's on your mind Herm?" She didn't reply at first. She wasn't used to being called by her old school nickname. She let out a deep sigh. "Harry? Why did we ever break up?" Harry had to think about this random question. "I'm not sure 'Mione." There was another nickname! All well. "Well the way I remember it was………

*~flashback*~

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was a sunny day at Hogwarts and most everyone was outside enjoying the perfect weekend. Every where you looked you'd see a couple holding hands, or a group of friends. Not to mention the famous couple, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. They were never seen apart. The lovers sat on a hill top enjoying the view all alone. 

It was their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. They could just barely hear Dumbledore's magicked booming voice in the distance back by the castle. "All seventh year students gather around me! I have an important announcement to make. Gather round!" Harry and Hermione trotted down to see what was the matter.

When they got there, every seventh year outside was standing around Dumbledore. He announced, "Please follow me to join the rest of the seventh year students in the Great Hall. We have a special visitor today." They followed him into the Great Hall surrounded by excited seventh years.

Dumbledore stepped up onto the stage that was put there. "Quiet down. Quiet down. Today a visitor is going to talk to all about your future careers. Please welcome, Victor Krum!" Everyone clapped and cheered loudly. Everyone except Harry. He knew Krum liked Hermione. He went out with her for the Yule Ball and admitted that he liked her. 

Harry didn't like this idea. He then realized Krum was speaking, "I'm going to need a couple volunteers." He was saying. "Oh brother." Harry muttered as many people shot their hands in the air. Krum stepped down into the audience and started choosing people randomly. He waded through the crowd and spotted Hermione. A broad grin took over his face.

"And how about this lovely young lady?" He tugged Hermione up onto the stage even though she wasn't raising her hand. She looked at Harry pleadingly. Now Harry **_definitely_** didn't like this idea. Krum then assigned each person a job. Hermione was a famous Quidditch player. He went to each person and told them about their job. Then it was Hermione's turn. Krum asked her if she knew how to play Quidditch. 

"Of course I do. I read it in _Quidditch Through the Ages." _Krum replied, "OK then. Do you know how to fly a broom?" 

"No, not really." 

"Well then I'll show you how. _Accio Firebolt!_" He shouted. A firebolt came zooming up to him. "Now. Put one leg over the side. That's it. Now let me show you the arm positions." He put his arms lined up with hers with his hands on top of hers. By now, Harry was completely jealous and ticked off at Krum. Boy was he gonna get it! Krum placed her hands gently in the correct positions, then slid his hands up across her arms and stood up to admire her. 

"Yup. That should do it." He said in satisfied tone. "OK, any questions?" He asked the audience. No one raised their hands, but some girls were giving Hermione evil jealousy looks. "OK then that about wraps it up. I hope you enjoyed the show. I'll be staying for autographs in the library. Thanks and have a nice day. Quietus." Krum whispered to his throat. Hermione hadn't moved since Krum let go of her. She had just had a very uncomfortable moment and didn't know what to think.

Everyone was leaving except Harry who was walking toward the stage. "I'm gonna need that back." Krum whispered in her ear. 

"Oh. Sorry." Hermione squeaked and stepped off the broom, still stunned from the awkward moment. He took the broom and quickly left before Harry got there. Harry stepped onto the stage, ready to yell after Krum, but saw Hermione's frightened and startled face. 

"Oh sweetie." Harry whined. He walked up to her with his arms out and comforted her with a nice, big hug. He pulled away from it, took her head in his hands, and kissed her on the forehead. 

"It's alright Herm." he reassured her as he looked into her brown, unsure eyes. Hermione seemed to snap out of some sort of trance. She pulled his hands down gently and said, "Oh I'll be alright."

"You sure?" he looked deep into her eyes. 

"I'm sure." He raised his eyebrows. 

"I'm fine! Seriously. I was just a little shocked. That's all."

"Ok." Harry said and smiled at her. "Want me to go beat him up for you?"

Hermione forced a laugh. "I just need a little time alone. I'll be in the library." 

"All right. If you need me, I'm in the common room." 

"Bye."

"See you." They went their separate ways and when Hermione went into the library, she forgot all about Krum giving out autographs. 'All well.' She thought. She sat in the far side of the library: away from the mob of girls. It was about thirty minutes later when the fans were gone. Krum walked towards Hermione. She saw this and got up to leave. He stopped her and said, "Wait. I have to tell you something." He grabbed her arms and added, "I've been waiting a long time for this."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry was thinking about the usual stuff: Quidditch, Hermione, School, Hermione, the invisibility cloak, Hermione, and…Hermione. Speaking of Hermione, he forgot to say I love you when he said good bye! He made a rose pop out of his wand and hurried to the library. When he got there, he panted for breath and said, "Hermione! I just wanted to tell you, I forgot to say I…." 

But he was cut off by the scene he saw: Krum was kissing Hermione! AND Hermione's hands were intertwined in his hair! Harry's heart was ripped out, torn to shreds, and stepped on like the delicate pedals of the rose. He dropped it and instead of beating the *bleep* out of Victor Krum, he ran up to the boy's dormitories, heart broken.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione had a good grip on his hair, and pulled HARD. "AAHHH!" Krum gasped. "What'd you do that for?!" 

"I'm dating Harry!" She shouted in his face. Then she slapped him even harder than when she did with Malfoy. "Ugghh!" She stomped off in the other direction. 

From then on, Harry wouldn't talk to her, and with only a few days left of school, Hermione couldn't explain what happened. But she did see him holding hands with Cho on the last day of school and decided not to talk to him either. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*(flash back over)*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So that was that." Hermione explained to Harry. "Oohh! Then it was just a big misunderstanding." Harry realized. "I thought you were actually enjoying that kiss."

"No way Harry! I had my hands in his hair to pull it." 

"Oooh." Harry said thoughtfully. 

A/N: I know I stopped abruptly, but their conversation continues right into chapter 9. I'll post more later when I have the time. I'm sssssssssssssooooooooo sorry it took me so long to post! I truly am! Please forgive me!? Please? I don't even wanna know how long it's been since I posted to this story last. 


	9. Denying and Accepting the Kiss

Chapter 9- Denying and Accepting the Kiss.

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. These. Characters. J.K. Rowling. Does. 

"And to think I wasted seven years away from you." "Aww." She gave him a big hug. "Umm…..do you have a boyfriend?" He had been waiting to ask that for awhile. She looked up into his stunning eyes. "Harry, you're the only man I've ever loved. And no one can change that." She leaned in for a kiss, but he put a finger to her lips. 

"Not yet. We have to be absolutely sure." He whispered to her face as he denied her kiss. Although it was tempting, he had to resist. Just I case they were wrong about Cho. In a way, he was kinda hoping she was cheating on him because now, there's a new love in his life. Harry checked his watch. "Well, we'd best be off. She should be there by now if she was going at all." 

They got up, and Hermione led the way to Draco's house. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ten minutes later they peered through the window of a large mansion with a long driveway. At the end of the driveway stood a mailbox with the peeling black numbers, 6.….6.…6 *dun, dun, dun*. In the window, they saw exactly what they suspected: Cho snuggled up against Malfoy. 

They were very much enjoying themselves. Harry stomped to the front door, whispered, "_Alohamora!" _and kicked it open. Cho screamed and stood in front of Malfoy. Seemingly protecting him. "Harry, we can talk about this. I…I can explain!" Se tried to get him to stop but he just kept walking towards her like a mad rhino. 

Instead of attacking her, he pushed her aside (such a gentleman) and jumped on Malfoy. He punched him over, and over, and over again, and with each punch, he said a curse word. He forgot all about magic. After he called him about every name in the book, he lifted him up by the cuff of his shirt, raised his fist, ready for another punch, but stopped.

He dropped him on the ground and said, "Forget it. Your not worth it. If I'm not good enough for Cho," he nodded in her direction, "that she has to come crawling to a filthy snob like you, then fine." He started to back up. "Fine." He was talking unusually high. "Come on Harry, let's just go." Hermione tugged at his arm while still staring at Malfoy bleeding on the floor. They walked out silently and cautiously. 

"Glad that's over." Harry stated as he stared blankly ahead. "Are you ok?" Hermione was concerned. He looked as if nothing had happened. "Well, I was just thinking of a date to set for filing a divorce when I'm not working." 

"Oh. Where do you work?" Hermione was expecting the Ministry or some great job. 

"You didn't hear? Fred and George opened up a joke shop and I'm working there." 

"Did they?" A smile played her lips. "How's business going for them?" 

"Oh, it's just fine actually. It's called 'Twin Joke Shop.' You should pay them a visit sometime." 

"I thought they were gonna call it, 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?'" 

"Ha! Funny you should ask. They were going to call it that, but Mrs. Weasley refused to let them use the family name. She even threatened to sue! So anyway, they thought up another name. I think it's quite clever."

"Yeah I agree. The other name was more of a tongue twister." They both laughed and walked on silently through the park. 

Then Harry broke the comfortable silence. "Well, you've heard about me, what about you?" 

"Ok…I work at a shelter….a special kind of shelter. It's called, S.P.E.W. The purpose is to feed, clothe and shelter House Elves who were set free/fired and have no place to go." Then she added, "I own the company. It's good money." 

"Wow. Great idea Hermione! I knew you'd pull off a great accomplishment sooner or later. Anything else new with you?" 

"Actually yeah." Hermione stopped walking and looked up into his heart stopping emerald eyes. 

"I think I've fallen in love." Harry seemed to agree as he put hi hands around her waist and pulled her in close for a life changing kiss. 

A/N: aaaaaaawwwwwwwww! Isn't that sweet?! I love fluff! And kisses, and smooches and love, etc. *he he* I'm a fluff freak! Like my new name? From now on, I'm fluff freak. 


	10. Fits of Laughter

Fits of Laughter  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters; just the plot/storyline.  
  
A/N: OMG! It's been like...forever since I posted! Well, I'm gonna e-mail  
  
everyone and I'm hoping to get plenty more reviews! Please enjoy and I'm  
  
so sorry you guys! Honestly I am! Well, enough with the apologies, let's get  
  
to the story right?  
  
You might think that when a wizard gets divorced they do it differently than  
  
muggles. But no, they go to a muggle court, and do it the muggle way. They  
  
often have to use a memory charm on the judge because something slips. No  
  
one's really sure why they can't use the courts in the Ministry for divorce  
  
cases. People just guessed it was because they already had so much to deal  
  
with. So anyway, Harry found an opening in his schedule to file the divorce  
  
and was going to stop by and let Cho in on the date. But when he got to his  
  
house, she wasn't there. "Of course." Harry said to himself. "Malfoy's."   
  
He growled. Harry pulled into the driveway of number 666 *dun, dun, dun*  
  
and knocked on the front door. Malfoy arrived and spoke before Harry  
  
could. "What do you want?" He drawled. Harry opened his mouth once  
  
again to speak but Cho appeared at Malfoy's side, "It's alright Draco. Just let  
  
him say what he has to say." She said to him in a honey sweet tone.  
  
"Besides, I have to tell him something." Harry cleared his throat and looked  
  
menacingly at Malfoy, then back at Cho. "I just wanted to say that the date  
  
to got to court for the divorce is on Thursday next week." "Ok, and I just  
  
wanted to tell you," she spoke to Harry in a tone unlike sweet honey. More  
  
like poisoned honey. "that I'm moving in with Draco. And you'll find that  
  
I've already taken what I need. So you can have your so called house back."   
  
Malfoy laughed maliciously at this remark. Harry was shaking with anger  
  
but learned by now how to control his temper. "Thanks." He said through  
  
clenched teeth. Cho put a false smile on and narrowed her eyes. Then she  
  
said in an intimidating voice, "Your welcome." And slammed the door shut  
  
in his face. He stomped off to his car and slammed the door shut. How dare  
  
she compare that disgusting, twit's property to his?! He honked his horn and  
  
held it for about 7 seconds then sped off towards Hermione's house leaving  
  
skid marks on the street.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Please Hermione?" Harry begged Hermione as they chatted in Hermione's  
  
living room: Harry sitting comfortably on the genuine leather couch,  
  
Hermione lounging in her armchair right across from him. "I don't know  
  
Harry.... It's not that I don't want to help you, but I'm working on Thursday."   
  
"Come on! You're a witness! With you there it'll go by much faster and I  
  
promise I'll......I'll come and help you at S.P.E.W!" This seemed to be the  
  
right thing to say because Hermione's face lit up at these words and she  
  
practically cried, "Would you Harry?!" Harry smiled and sighed with relief.  
  
"Of course I will."   
  
"YES! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" And she tilted her head  
  
back towards the ceiling and thanked it. "So you'll come?" Harry asked  
  
eagerly. "Oh, I suppose so." Hermione was so bursting with happiness she'd  
  
probably agree to anything at the moment. "Oh, this'll be so much fun! Of  
  
course you'll have to wear the required badge and pillow case." Harry  
  
suddenly became confused. "Whoa, whoa, what did you say? Pillow case?"   
  
Hermione's smile broadened. "Well, yeah. Isn't it brilliant? I thought that if  
  
we wore a pillow case , the elves would feel better about themselves."   
  
Harry's face screwed up and he was speechless. "Isn't that just brilliant!?"   
  
She repeated. Harry replied in a horrified voice, "Just a pillow case?"   
  
Hermione laughed once again. "No you silly! Over our clothes."   
  
"Oh, phew!" Relief washed over Harry once again. "Did you really think I  
  
would make you wear only a pillow case?" Hermione seemed to think this  
  
was all very funny. Harry smiled, embarrassed. "Well,...yeah." Hermione  
  
laughed even harder which Harry didn't even think was possible. In fact, she  
  
laughed so hard, she threatened to fall off her chair, but was caught just in  
  
time by Harry who saved her from crashing to the floor. "I - can't - breathe!"  
  
She gasped between fits of laughter and desperate swallows for air.   
  
Watching Hermione as she laughed, Harry couldn't help but laugh too.   
  
Soon, they were both cracking up on the floor. When the laughter finally  
  
died, the silence was broken when Hermione stated, "I think I've peed in my  
  
pants." Now it was Harry's turn to laugh at her. "Oh, shut up." She joked as  
  
she struggled to her feet. Harry pushed off the floor right behind Hermione  
  
and tried stifling his giggles but was failing miserably. Then Harry said  
  
seriously, "I think after tonight I'm gonna live to be a hundred." Hermione  
  
turned her head to face him while on her way to the kitchen and gave him a  
  
puzzled 'what-are-you-up-to' look. "How so?" "You mean to tell me you've  
  
never heard that before?" "Heard what!?" Harry was no longer pretending  
  
to be serious. "They say laughing makes you live longer." This remark  
  
made Hermione laugh again, just a small giggle anyway. They were all  
  
laughed out. "Made you laugh!" Harry teased. "Yeah. Again." There was a  
  
pause, while Hermione straightened up the kitchen. "Well,...I guess I'll head  
  
on out. I think it's pretty late." Harry checked his watch. "I'd better get  
  
some sleep, it's going on 11:30." "All right....yeah. Good idea. Sleep sounds  
  
good to me." Harry started walking towards the front door, Hermione  
  
followed. "Umm.......see you later I guess." Harry said while rubbing the  
  
back of his neck nervously. "Yeah....see ya." Hermione muttered looking  
  
anywhere but at Harry. "Bye." Harry said as he opened the door. "I'll call  
  
you on Thursday then?" "K." Harry stepped halfway out the door,  
  
Hermione's hand was on the handle, he then turned his head to face  
  
Hermione. It happened very quickly, but it definitely happened. He leaned  
  
towards her, kissed her, then pulled back smiling. "What?" Hermione said  
  
and couldn't help smiling herself. "That's a proper goodbye." Hermione  
  
agreed. "Yeah..." Harry walked to his car and pulled out waving, thinking,  
  
'This is the way it's supposed to be. Hermione and I together. It just feels  
  
right.' 


	11. The Divorce

Chapter 11-The Divorce

Disclaimer- I don't own anything except the plot and the judge.

A/N: Guys, I feel really bad that I've kept ya'll waiting so long! I already said sry in my other a/n so I'll just shut up and write the story. Does anyone really read the author's notes? *crickets chirp* I didn't think so. 

The next few days went by so quick it seemed a blur to Harry. It was Thursday morning and Harry had everything ready, he just needed to stop by and pick up Hermione. When he arrived there, he had to knock on the door several times. And when Hermione finally answered, he was lost for words, his mouth slightly open. 

"What's the matter with you?" Hermione asked him. "Um-uh-you look-uh…." he paused and cleared his throat. "We're just going to court you know." Hermione looked offended but embarrassed. Quite an odd combination. "Well, it's always good to make a good first impression." He was still staring at her. She was wearing a strapless, skin tight black dress, with shinny black high heels. On her lips she coded a shiny strawberry lip gloss. Her hair was neatly put up in a clip which she found in a book. 

And when Harry moved up a step closer, the aroma of sweet pea vanilla perfume filled his nostrils. "Yeah…yeah. First impression good." he said stupidly. Hermione stifled a laugh. "Well, you look very nice too." Harry was wearing a stylish black suit, with a white shirt on underneath. And to pull it all together he sported a red tie with white diagonal stripes. Harry cleared his throat. "Well, let's go then." He turned on the heel of his shiny white dress shoes and opened the door of his silver, Honda Rx7 for Hermione, then drove off to court. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry sat at a table in the front of the empty throne for the judge, fidgeting his hands nervously under the table. Cho and Draco sat at another table beside him with Hermione next to him. She was showing no sign of nervousness which Harry admired and was grateful for. 'At least one of us knows what we're doing.' He thought. The judge walked in and an officer said, "All rise!" Everyone stood (Harry with difficulty) and the judge sat in his seat and droned almost in a bored voice, "Be seated." 

And everyone sat. The judge was a good looking man, around his early thirties it seemed. Everyone sat still and there was the loudest silence Harry had ever heard. Only the judge seemed to be at ease as he shuffled the papers at his stand. When he finally spoke, Harry jumped in his seat. "So we've got a divorce case. Will Mr. Harry Potter please have his witness rise?" Harry looked at Hermione and she stood up, biting her lip. She didn't look too brave anymore. "You may sit at the witness stand." He motioned his hand at the stand to his left as if she had a choice. 

She sat uncomfortably in the wooden chair. An officer approached her with a bible and held it out to her. "Please place your left hand on the bible and your right over your heart." She mindlessly did so. "Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?" "Yes." she said almost too quickly. Harry looked up at the judge and discovered that he was greedily checking out Hermione. A hot surge of anger spread through Harry's face and his fists clamped into balls under the table while his teeth clenched threateningly. 

Then the judge spoke to Hermione, "So what did you witness?" She took a deep breath and tried hard not to stutter. "I was taking a walk around the neighborhood, and I saw through a window, Cho Chang, well Potter, but I didn't know then. Well anyway, I saw her kissing Draco Malfoy." The judge looked at her in a way Harry didn't like. But then he accused her, which didn't match with his expression. "How do you know it wasn't a friendly kiss?" "Well, I um, I could just tell by looking." "I see. And are you an expert on kissing?" 

Hermione was not expecting this at all. "Well um…I -" He cut her off. "Have you kissed before? Say, perhaps, Mr. Potter?" Hermione lost it. "Now that's enough! You've gone too far! That's none of your business, and that's beside the point!" she shouted. The judge was no longer bearing down on her. "We're not here to see who kissed who," Hermione continued, on a softer note. "They just want a separation, not accusations." The judge cleared his throat. "Well. I guess you've made a point." 

The judge had a nervous look about him and kept glancing to Harry's right. Harry turned to look, and saw Malfoy, glaring at the judge with a look that said, 'What are you doing?! You're messing it up!!' with his hands in the air, palms up. Just at that moment, Harry figured it out! It all made sense now! Why the judge was acting weird and jumping to conclusions. Malfoy had bribed him to make them look bad. 'That's just the thing Malfoy would do.' he thought. And he didn't even need to! They were just getting a divorce! Harry would bet his Gringotts vault that that's what was going on here. 'Like father like son.' he thought viscously. 

Then he turned his anger toward the judge. As he was announcing their divorce, the accident happened. Harry's anger was once again magically released by mistake. The judge stopped in mid sentence and a look of great pain replaced the smug expression he was wearing. He looked like he was going to faint, he turned all pale, and opened his mouth wide like he was going to scream. But instead, something much worse happened. 

Out emerged a gold galleon covered in brown slime that seemed much too big for his small mouth. Followed by it were more galleons, some sickles, and a few knuts. When the last was out he whimpered "Oh Lordy." and passed out. People were stunned at first, but then they started to panic and scream and they all ran for the exits. After a few seconds of complete chaos, the Ministry arrived and put the judge right while trying to catch all the muggles to put memory charms on them. 

One of the Ministry members had managed to save the paper for the divorce and gave it to Harry, although it was covered in slime. "Sorry mate," he muttered. "hope it's all right." Hermione noticed that the judge managed to sign it before he started producing wizard money. "So that means you're officially divorced Harry!" "Really? I thought I'd ruined it all." He walked over to Cho and showed her the paper, explaining what it meant. 

"I know what it means, I'm not stupid! In other words, I'm not stuck with you for the rest of my life." Harry responded dully "Yeah sure. That." And he walked out happily, hand in hand with Hermione. 

A/N: YAY!!!!!!! MY STORY IS FINISHED!!!!!!! don't worry though, there's a sequel, it's called Blue Eyes and it'll be coming soon to computer near you! He he. Ne ways…I've already got the first chapter written and I'm working on the second. The chappies in this story r a little longer though, I thought u peeps wanted longer chappies…or some 1 did…ne way! Get ready for sum mushy stuff! At least the first couple chappies ne way. As you can see, I don't know much about getting a divorce in court, but I did my best so who really cares!! Please review if u read it, I don't care if u just say "hi" or "it was good" or "I hated it" I just want to see how many peeps actually read my story, not _just_ the peeps that review it. 


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